(03-22) 14:55 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A high school principal took a hands-on approach to school safety in San Francisco when he chased down a suspected iPad thief and pulled him off a fence as he tried to escape, school officials and authorities said.

Students at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in the Outer Sunset had suffered a wave of theft involving school-issued iPads, with dozens disappearing over the last few weeks. Administrators had a description of a suspect - a man seen hanging around campus when the thefts happened - but hadn't been able to catch him.

Dean of Students Bill Gotch was doing his regular rounds through campus around 3:45 p.m. Thursday when he saw a man matching the description and stopped him to talk.

Though the suspect looked the part of a high school student - complete with a backpack and a copy of Lord of the Flies - he couldn't easily answer questions about what school he went to and why he was on campus, said principal Patrick Ruff. He and Gotch questioned him further in Gotch's office and eventually said they were going to call police.

That's when the suspect bolted.

He ran out the door and across the school's track toward an iron fence, Gotch said. Ruff, 43, sprinted after him, caught up as he was climbing the fence, and pulled him down. School security guards helped detain the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Gabriel Ruiz Vega of South San Francisco, until police arrived.

Ruiz Vega was booked on suspicion of committing burglary, possessing stolen property and violating the terms of his probation in an earlier grand theft case, said police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy. Police found seven iPads and a wallet belonging to St. Ignatius students in Ruiz Vega's bag, Gotch said.

"We're hopeful we're going to recover more," Ruff said. "We're thrilled we found this guy. And everyone helped - the dean, security, administrators. I just happened to be the runner."

That may be so, but Ruff had a captive audience - students who were amused and impressed that their principal was willing to tackle a guy for their iPads.

"At first when I saw it on Facebook, I thought it was a joke," said Lizzie McCaffrey, 15, a freshman. "I think it's pretty cool Mr. Ruff would stand up for his students like that and save the day, almost."

Students took to Facebook and Instagram to spread the word - and to capitalize on a good pun opportunity. One post on a Facebook group page summed it up: "If you're going to steal iPads from S.I., you're going to get ruffed up."